CONTRAST BETWEEN TWO ORDERS OF CIVILIZATION.
WE have seen that European civilization owes to the Catholic Church its
finest ornament, its most valuable victory in the cause of humanity,
the abolition of slavery. It was the Church that, by her doctrines,
as beneficent as elevated, by a system as efficacious as prudent,
by her unbounded generosity, her indefatigable zeal, her invincible
firmness, abolished slavery in Europe; that is to say, she took the
first step towards the regeneration of humanity, and laid the first
stone for the wide and deep foundation of European civilization; we
mean the emancipation of slaves, the abolition for ever of so degrading
a state,--universal liberty. It was impossible to create and organize
a civilization full of grandeur and dignity, without raising man from
his state of abjection, and placing him above the level of animals.
Whenever we see him crouching at another's feet, awaiting with anxiety
the orders of his master or trembling at the lash; whenever he is
sold like a beast, or a price is set upon his powers and his life,
civilization will never have its proper development, it will always be
weak, sickly, and broken; for thus humanity bears a mark of ignominy on
its forehead.
After having shown that it was Catholicity that removed that obstacle
to all social progress, by, as it were, cleansing Europe of the
disgusting leprosy with which it was infected from head to foot,
let us examine what it has done towards creating and erecting the
magnificent edifice of European civilization. If we seriously reflect
on the vitality and fruitfulness of this civilization, we shall find
therein new and powerful claims on the part of the Catholic Church to
the gratitude of nations. In the first place, it is proper to glance at
the vast and interesting picture which European civilization presents
to us, and to sum up in a few words its principal perfections; thereby
we shall be enabled the more easily to account to ourselves for the
admiration and enthusiasm with which it inspires us.
The individual animated by a lively sense of his own dignity, abounding
in activity, perseverance, energy, and the simultaneous development
of all his faculties; woman elevated to the rank of the consort of
man, and, as it were, recompensed for the duty of obedience by the
respectful regards lavished upon her; the gentleness and constancy of
family ties, protected by the powerful guarantees of good order and
justice; an admirable public conscience, rich in maxims of sublime
morality, in laws of justice and equity, in sentiments of honor
and dignity; a conscience which survives the shipwreck of private
morality, and does not allow unblushing corruption to reach the height
which it did in antiquity; a general mildness of manners, which in
war prevents great excesses, and in peace renders life more tranquil
and pleasing; a profound respect for man, and all that belongs to
him, which makes private acts of violence very uncommon, and in all
political constitutions serves as a salutary check on governments;
an ardent desire of perfection in all departments; an irresistible
tendency, sometimes ill-directed, but always active, to improve the
condition of the many; a secret impulse to protect the weak, to succour
the unfortunate--an impulse which sometimes pursues its course with
generous ardor, and which, whenever it is unable to develop itself,
remains in the heart of society, and produces there the uneasiness
and disquietude of remorse; a cosmopolitan spirit of universality, of
propagandism, an inexhaustible fund of resources to grow young again
without danger of perishing, and for self-preservation in the most
important junctures; a generous impatience, which longs to anticipate
the future, and produces an incessant movement and agitation, sometimes
dangerous, but which are generally the germs of great benefits,
and the symptoms of a strong principle of life; such are the great
characteristics which distinguish European civilization; such are the
features which place it in a rank immensely superior to that of all
other civilizations, ancient and modern.
Read the history of antiquity; extend your view over the whole world;
wherever Christianity does not reign, and where the barbarous or
savage life no longer prevails, you will find a civilization which in
nothing resembles our own, and which cannot be compared with it for
a moment. In some of these states of civilization, you will perhaps
find a certain degree of regularity and some marks of power, for
they have endured for centuries; but how have they endured? Without
movement, without progress; they are devoid of life; their regularity
and duration are those of a marble statue, which, motionless itself,
sees the waves of generations pass by. There have also been nations
whose civilization displayed motion and activity; but what motion and
what activity? Some, ruled by the mercantile spirit, never succeeded
in establishing their internal happiness on a firm basis; their only
object was to invade new countries which tempted their cupidity, to
pour into their colonies their superabundant population, and establish
numerous factories in new lands: others, continually contending and
fighting for a few measures of political freedom, forgot their social
organization, took no care of their civil liberty, and acted in the
narrowest circle of time and space; they would not be even worthy
of having their names preserved for posterity, if the genius of the
beautiful had not shone there with indescribable charm, and if the
monuments of their knowledge, like a mirror, had not preserved the
bright rays of Eastern learning: others, great and terrible, it is
true, but troubled by intestine dissensions, bear inscribed upon their
front the formidable destiny of conquest; this destiny they fulfilled
by subjugating the world, and immediately their rapid and inevitable
ruin approached: others, in fine, excited by violent fanaticism, raged
like the waves of ocean in a storm; they threw themselves upon other
nations like a devastating torrent, and threatened to involve Christian
civilization itself in their deafening uproar; but their efforts were
vain; their waves broke against insurmountable barriers; they repeated
their attempts, but, always compelled to retire, they fell back again,
and spread themselves on the beach with a sullen roar: and now look at
the Eastern nations; behold them like an impure pool, which the heat
of the sun is about to dry up; see the sons and successors of Mahomet
and Omar on their knees at the feet of the European powers, begging a
protection, which policy sometimes affords them, but only with disdain.
Such is the picture presented to us by every civilization, ancient
and modern, except that of Europe, that is, the Christian. It alone
at once embraces every thing great and noble in the others; it alone
survives the most thorough revolutions; it alone extends itself to all
races and climates, and accommodates itself to forms of government
the most various; it alone, in fine, unites itself with all kinds of
institutions, whenever, by circulating in them its fertile sap, it can
produce its sweet and salutary fruits for the good of humanity. And
whence comes the immense superiority of European civilization over all
others? How has it become so noble, so rich, so varied, so fruitful;
with the stamp of dignity, of nobility, and of loftiness; without
castes, without slaves, without eunuchs, without any of those miseries
which prey upon other ancient and modern nations? It often happens
that we Europeans complain and lament more than the most unfortunate
portion of the human race ever did; and we forget that we are the
privileged children of Providence, and that our evils, our share of
the unavoidable patrimony of humanity, are very slight, are nothing
in comparison with those which have been, and still are, suffered by
other nations. Even the extent of our good fortune itself renders us
difficult to please, and exceedingly fastidious. We are like a man of
high rank, accustomed to live respected and esteemed in the midst of
ease and pleasure, who is indignant at a slighting word, is filled with
disquietude and affliction at the most trifling contradiction, and
forgets the multitude of men who are plunged in misery, whose nakedness
is covered with a few rags, and who meet with a thousand insults and
refusals before they can obtain a morsel of bread to satisfy the
cravings of hunger.
The mind, when contemplating European civilization, experiences so
many different impressions, is attracted by so many objects that at
the same time claim its attention and preference, that, charmed by the
magnificent spectacle, it is dazzled, and knows not where to commence
the examination. The best way in such a case is to simplify, to
decompose the complex object, and reduce it to its simplest elements.
_The individual, the family, and society_; these we have thoroughly to
examine, and these ought to be the subjects of our inquiries. If we
succeed in fully understanding these three elements, as they really are
in themselves, and apart from the slight variations which do not affect
their essence, European civilization, with all its riches and all its
secrets, will be presented to our view, like a fertile and beautiful
landscape lit up by the morning sun.
European civilization is in possession of the principal truths with
respect to the individual, to the family, and to society; it is to
this that it owes all that it is and all that it has. Nowhere have the
true nature, the true relations and object of these three things been
better understood than in Europe; with respect to them we have ideas,
sentiments, and views which have been wanting in other civilizations.
Now, these ideas and feelings, strongly marked on the face of European
nations, have inoculated their laws, manners, institutions, customs,
and language; they are inhaled with the air, for they have impregnated
the whole atmosphere with their vivifying aroma. To what is this owing?
To the fact, that Europe, for many centuries, has had within its bosom
a powerful principle which preserves, propagates, and fructifies the
truth; and it was especially in those times of difficulty, when the
disorganized society had to assume a new form, that this regenerating
principle had the greatest influence and ascendency. Time has passed
away, great changes have taken place, Catholicity has undergone vast
vicissitudes in its power and influence on society; but civilization,
its work, was too strong to be easily destroyed; the impulse which had
been given to Europe was too powerful and well secured to be easily
diverted from its course. Europe was like a young man gifted with a
strong constitution, and full of health and vigor; the excesses of
labor or of dissipation reduce him and make him grow pale; but soon the
hue of health returns to his countenance, and his limbs recover their
suppleness and vigor.